Shares in Informa PLC (LON:INF) navigated higher on Wednesday after the events group posted a huge rise in revenue and profits in the first half of the year.
Revenue jumped 47% to £1.41bn (H1 18: £0.96bn) in the six months to the end of June, while adjusted profits rose by a similar percentage to £435.7mln (H1 18: £294.4mln).
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The growth came from Informa’s multi-billion-pound merger with rival UBM this time last year, which created the biggest events business in the UK.
Given the strong performance, Informa, which owns the venerable shipping journal, Lloyd's List, hiked the interim dividend by 7% to 7.55p (H1 18: 7.05p).
“A year on from the acquisition of UBM, the enlarged Informa group is performing to plan, delivering a further period of growth in revenue, adjusted operating profit, free cash flow and dividends,” said chief executive Stephen Carter.
“Our Advanced Learning businesses remain resilient, our Data, Information and Communities businesses are performing well, and despite previously identified headwinds in our Fashion and Middle East businesses, we continue to grow consistently in Events and Exhibitions.
“This puts us on track to deliver our targets for 2019 and provides a strong foundation for consistent future growth and performance.”
Shares were up 5.8% to 874.6p in early deals on Wednesday.